In an age of growing concern surrounding shortages in the world’s water supplies, a Griffith University researcher is using historical insights to create a more sustainable, forward thinking future.
Civil engineer, Dr Edoardo Bertone is using ‘big data’ tracked from agencies such as Seqwater, the Bureau of Meteorology and Queensland’s Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, to develop models that will ensure more efficient, cost-effective supply to meet growing demand.
Dr Bertone has undertaken his research within Australia’s Gold Coast, using historical data, in combination with qualitative content, to develop predictive models and decision support systems to grow long term resilience of water resources.
“We are quickly transitioning towards a world where technology enables the collection of an enormous amount of data, but often it is collected without adding real value,” confirmed Dr Bertone.
“Forecasting of weather patterns and pinpointing related effects on dam storage and capacities has led to the development of
Category: Griffith University Feed
Symposium seeks solutions to increasing ‘housing stress’
More than 70 leading government, academic, and industry experts tackled one of the country’s biggest problems at the 2017 Australian Social and Affordable Housing Symposium.
Held in Brisbane, participants examined the social, political and economic challenges amid increased calls to ease the burden of ‘housing stress’; particularly for low-income households.
The Australian Council of Social Services estimates more than a million lower income households are paying housing costs exceeding 30 per cent of their income, and more than 100,000 Australians are homeless.
Stefen MacAskill, one of the Griffith University organisers, said the event provided an excellent opportunity to connect those in the industry to discuss ideas, research, and proposed solutions from a variety of angles.
“It was a successful and very informative event on the latest developments in the space,” he said.
“The success of the symposium reaffirms the strength of the ongoing partnership between the Griffith Business School and industry to tackle real world and
Analysing how employees evaluate organisations’ employment relationship policies and practices
The Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing is hosting Professor Jason Shaw from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on October 10th as he holds a special seminar about his study on a construal-level theory of employment relationships and psychological contract fulfilment.
In his paper, Professor Shaw argues that there is a distinct difference in the way employees evaluate organisations’ employment relationship policies and practices, as the former is seen in more of an abstract level and the latter is seen in more concrete terms.
“In this paper, we make the argument that when people evaluate these things that are at a very abstract or high level they tend to prefer policies which indicate some sort of balance,” Professor Shaw said.
“But when we make the argument using the construal-level theory when people evaluate what the are experiencing they prefer practices or an employment relationship that is imbalanced towards stability or inducement, things that
Amazing algae ring find can show climate changes
Scientists have discovered “tree rings” in coral-reef building algae that could show signs of impacts of climate change.
The Griffith University team made the find using state-of-the-art techniques in laboratories at the Griffith University Nathan campus, the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Similar to tree rings, skeletal banding can provide information on growth rate, age, and longevity, as well as records of past environmental conditions and the coralline algae’s growth responses to such changes.
Published in the journal PLOS One today (Thursday), the researchers show the rings for the first time in tropical reef building species from the Great Barrier Reef. The bands are created by changes in skeletal mineralogy and density, and reproductive structures.
“Variations in the spacing in between the bands may reflect a change in the environment. Understanding this could help us understand past or future climate change events and their impacts on the reef,” said
Digital poet wins Queensland Literary Award
Digital artist and writer, Dr Jason Nelson, has won the inaugural Digital Literature Award at the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards.
A senior lecturer at Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art, Dr Nelson won the accolade for his digital poem Nine Million Branches.
Upon landing on the poem’s home page, the piece begins:
“The world, its politics and environments, conflicts and economies, is in peril, in disarray.
“We are flooded with tragic tales and the shameful deeds of others. And because of this we have lost sight of the beauty, the story and narrative hidden in the local, in the landscapes around us.”
The audience is then invited to read, play and explore through the interactive landscape.
The Digital Literature Award, worth $10,000, is awarded to an exceptional work of transmedia or digital literature showcasing innovation in storytelling. It’s the largest of its kind internationally and sponsored by the Queensland Government and the Queensland University of
Lead poisoning is the top risk factor for pre-eclampsia, says Griffith study
More than a century since a Brisbane doctor found that lead in paint destroyed children’s lives, new research from Griffith University concludes that it is a major risk factor for pre-eclampsia.
Pre-eclampsia is a disease which kills over 75,000 women internationally each year and is responsible for 9% of all fetal deaths.
Published in Environmental Research, the study reviewed the results of 11 previous international studies that measured blood lead levels of pregnant women who experienced pre-eclampsia and control groups of women who did not experience pre-eclampsia.
“We combined the data from a number of clinical trials to conduct a powerful analysis of pre-eclampsia research,” says Dr Arthur Poropat from Griffith Health.
Along with Dr Mark Laidlaw from RMIT University, the team found that blood lead levels are the strongest predictor of whether a pregnant woman will develop pre-eclampsia.
“We found that the link between high blood lead levels and pre-eclampsia is twice as strong
Having a whale of a time researching
Griffith University researchers are using humpback whales as “canaries in the coalmine” to tell them what’s happening in Antarctica.
A team lead by Associate Professor Susan Bengtson Nash, of Griffith’s Southern Ocean Persistent Organic Pollutants Program (SOPOPP), has been monitoring the East coast of Australia migrating population for the past 10 years.
Professor Bengston Nash said they used the whales as a sentinel species to indicate what is happening in the Antarctic sea ice system.
“In Moreton Bay we’ve been working for 10 years now looking at the diet, the hormones, the enzyme activation in the animals, the contaminant burdens and also the relative fat reserves of the animals,” she said.
“We have also developed the first humpback whale cell line as a tool for toxicological investigations. We essentially we have a little whale in a petrie dish.
“We’ve discovered that by monitoring the whales’ fatness and diet we can tell whether it’s a good year or a poor year in Antarctica.”
SOPOPP also has a project in Moreton
Games Village emblem designed by Griffith student
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk officially handed the Parklands Development to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) during the weekend for its transformation into the Commonwealth Games Village.
The occasion was also marked by the unveiling of the Games Village emblem fittingly designed by Griffith University graphic design student, Janet Turner.
The Village 2018 emblem represents the coming together of 6,600 athletes and team officials from all over the Commonwealth and the Games Village as the meeting place.
“The emblem design was inspired by the Gold Coast’s natural beauty, promoting a fun and relaxed environment for athletes,” Premier Palaszczuk said.
“The emblem is also inspired by the Village itself with the central water feature drawing together the six residential zones, represented as a meeting place.”
Griffith sport development student Domonic Bedgood, who won gold in diving at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, also attended and addressed the formal handover event.
Premier Palaszczuk said the fact
Take a peek inside the Commonwealth Games Village ahead of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
A unique insight into what athletes can anticipate on arrival at the Commonwealth Games Village next year will be presented to a Gold Coast audience by Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) Village Operations Assistant, Emily Biviano, on Wednesday (Oct 4).
“I am hoping to take the audience on a journey as if they were an athlete or someone working in the Commonwealth Games Village,” Emily says.
“It will be an exclusive event with information that we don’t generally get to tell the public – fun facts, videos, photos. This is an opportunity for the Gold Coast community to get excited about GC2018 and also to inform them about the Village and the awesome legacy it will leave behind.”
FIND OUT MORE – 2018 INSIDE SCOOP
Emily will deliver the first of seven exclusive events hosted by City of Gold Coast Libraries taking a public audience behind the scenes of the Gold Coast
Humanitarian spirit is a work of heart for Cipta
Cipta Setiawan’s passion for humanitarian leadership took shape as a teenager in his homeland of Indonesia.
Initially manifesting through church, charity and community projects, then later via pro bono work in child protection and poverty reduction, the qualified psychologist and Griffith University alumnus has forged a career bringing sound strategies and positive outcomes to people, and in places, where these qualities are most needed.
This includes Cipta’s participation in the relief and reconstruction effort in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, his stint as Senior Human Resources Manager for Save the Children in Indonesia, and his humanitarian and development work in international conflict zones such as Afghanistan.
In fact, it was in Afghanistan that Cipta decided to pursue a Master of Communications through Griffith University.
Living quarters for Afghans in historic Badakhshan region of Afghanistan
From 2007-11, Cipta was based in Kabul as Human Resources Director for the Aga Khan Foundation, contributing to